Ghana Broadcasting Corporation

Corruption is a serious concern not only in developing countries but also in the most advanced ones. This situation in Ghana is not different as corruption has always played a major role in our body politic. Governments have been overthrown on basis of corruption and elections are fought on corruption. Many factors such as poor remuneration and greed have been identified as the major causes of corruption. But one cannot downplay the attitude of Ghanaians towards the poor in society as an equally important driving force for corruption. Society virtually worships the wealthy irrespective of the sources of their wealth. A typical Ghanaian will denigrate other citizens who have not been able to build their own houses and bought cars upon retirement without appreciating the fact that their salaries and the economy would not have permitted them to acquire those things. What is more worrying is the way one of the most influential institutions in the society, the Church, has take...

It is critical, that people be taught the culture of not just acquiring knowledge, but also adding to it. The system must teach people the rigours of academic work and intellectual creativity. One of the best systems for instilling this value in people, is education. It is the fundamental launch pad for the next generation of deep thinkers and creators. That is why it is upsetting that in-depth validation of knowledge and intellectual accomplishment is being cheapened these days, with a sudden influx of non-existent institutions one can simply buy certificates from. In a recent paper titled, ‘the Accreditation Challenges in Transnational Education Ecology, the Ghanaian Experience,’ the researchers from the Valdosta State University in the US identified a number of Ghanaians who have received fake degrees from unaccredited institutions. In the USA, they are popularly known as “Diploma Mills,” which is quite an appropriate name, as they just churn degrees on a virtual assem...

This year’s West African Senior Secondary Examination results as released by the West African Examinations Council have shown that more than half of the candidates may have to wait for another year or more to see their dream of entering into a tertiary institution come true. This is because more than 66 percent woefully failed to secure pass marks in all four core subjects, English Language, Mathematics, Social Studies and Integrated Science – a key requirement for gaining admission into any of the accredited public and private tertiary institutions in Ghana. A critical analysis of the provisional results released by the West African Examinations Council indicates a mass failure on the part of most of the candidates. A total of 274,262 candidates participated in the examinations. According to WAEC, a total of 125,065 students obtained A1 to C6 in English Language, which is 53.19 percent while 46,595 representing 19.82 percent had F9. For Mathematics only 77,108, represen...

Their historical antecedence can be traced to the pre and post-independence era but activities of vigilante groups attracted the headlines during the 2012 election petition hearing in 2013 when a group of young men with T-shirts bearing the inscription ‘Invincible Forces’ linked to the NPP appeared in town. Despite the heavy presence of state security, some members of the group made it into the Supreme Court premises through the vehicles of some of the principal actors in the case. Two weeks after the Invincible Forces registered their presence in the Court premises, another group, linked to the NDC appeared with T-shirts bearing the inscription ‘Untouchable Forces’. In fact, they had a tough time with the police who used pepper spray to disperse them. Unfortunately, the two major parties did not condemn their actions. Thankfully, their boisterous posture vanished when the Contempt Mood was activated by the nine- member bench which saw some otherwise influential people,...

It is beyond controversy that the greatest need of any human being and for that matter every nation is safety and security. It is not surprising therefore that governments invest heavily in their security agencies. Ghana is no exception. Successive governments have done their bit in terms of equipping the security services, especially the police. Despite all these efforts, many citizens believe that there are still a lot of loopholes in the system which is exploited by miscreants. It came as a relief when the former Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Alhassan introduced the visibility programme. By that, police officers are deployed to vantage locations throughout the country. No one needs scientific proof to conclude that the visibility programme has boosted security in the cities and towns as well as along the highways. It is common knowledge that armed robbery and other crimes have been major issues of concern to many Ghanaians for many years. However the sight of t...

It came as a joyous daybreak to end a long night of captivity when the world witnessed a new flag replacing the Union Jack. Those who thought it was impossible had a rude awakening when the Red, Gold, Green and the Black star was hoisted in the place of the British Flag. It was a dawn when the forebears of Ghana's independence promised in their speeches that democracy would be practised in its truest meaning. About eight centuries ago, before the Magna Carta, it was impossible to challenge those in authority either in words or in action. The future looked promising as citizens had hoped that their freedom was guaranteed. In that light, the founding fathers of this country laid down their lives and fought for its independence so democracy would be practised. After more than half a century on, the question on the lips of many is, is Ghana really practicing democracy? Ideally, democracy is to tolerate dissenting views. It is meant to collate different ideas for a common...

Without mincing words and without a shadow of doubt, President John Dramani Mahama got it right. The question that needs to be answered is what did the President do? The facts are bare. In the first place, the President accepted the conviction of the Montie three. He also accepted that the court was right in slapping both fine and custodial sentence on the contemnors. The President however disagreed with the severity of the sentence and therefore reduced it. He did that by exercising the powers conferred on him by Article 72 clause [1D] of the constitution. Not under Article 72 clause [1A], [1B] or [1C]. What the President did is a remission, not a pardon, not a respite and not a substitution. In essence, the President disagreed with the call on him by the petitioners to pardon the Montie three. The President however rightly accepted a reduction of the sentence. It is important to note that the citizens of this country have chosen the path of multiparty constitutional dem...